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6 Strange Sounds In Your Home Solved

August 20, 2018 By Annie Kearns Leave a Comment

What’s that sound? Use this quick guide to problem-solve the most common strange sounds in your home. 

Don’t worry – your home isn’t haunted. Those bumps in the night probably have a logical explanation behind them. Here are just 6 strange sounds you may be experiencing and what they mean.

6 Strange Sounds In Your Home – Solved!

Those odd sounds in your house could be one of these very common things. Read through them and see if any of them apply to your house. I hope they help you diagnose your problem so you can hire the right person. Strange sounds can drive a homeowner crazy!

Scratches in the walls

The first sound you might here is a scratching in your wall. Scratching sounds are almost always due to pests. This could include mice, rats, cockroaches, bats or even a bird that’s found its way into the wall cavity. In such cases, you’re best off calling pest control services who will be able to get rid of these pests for you. Such noises may also come from the loft, in which case it’s likely a pest crawled in through a hole in the roof – consider getting your roof repaired if this is the case.

Dripping sounds

The next sound could be dripping. Do you hear a dripping sound but can’t find any obvious leaks? The dripping could be coming from an internal pipe or it could be rainwater entering your cavity wall through an exterior crack. To diagnose this dripping, you could be best off hiring a plumber – the best plumbers are able to detect exactly where the leak is coming from using specialist equipment. If it’s an external leak, consider hiring a professional to seal up this crack if you can’t seal it up yourself.

 

Thudding in the pipes

Another very common strange sound in the home is when your pipes thud. 

Thudding noises in the pipes are common and are known as water hammer. This is when water slams loudly against a closed valve usually after turning off a tap or other faucet. Piping systems are generally built with air chambers that prevent water hammer, however these water chambers can get clogged up with water preventing them from working effectively. You may need to drain all the water in your home to help get air back into these chambers – this involves turning off the water at the mains and then running all the faucets until the pipes are all empty.

Whistling air conditioner

The fourth strange sound is when your air conditioner whistles. 

If you’re hearing an odd whistling sound coming from an air conditioning unit, it could be due to your filter needing cleaning. These filters can become blocked with dust and dirt over time. This won’t just cause a noise – it could be affecting the air quality in your home and potentially making you ill. Hire an air conditioning technician to clean out this filter for you.

 

Moaning radiators

Next, do your radiators make a moaning sound? 

Radiators will often moan or gurgle when there is air trapped in them. When this happens, radiators need to ‘bled’ to let out this trapped air. This can be done by opening your radiator valves with a radiator key.

Popping windows and floorboards

The final strange sound is when your stairs or floors creak. Don’t worry, it’s not haunted! 

If you hear random pops and cracks coming from windows and floorboards (not to be confused with creaks) this could simply be the material naturally expanding and contracting. Wood and glass will expand and contract with temperature changes, which could lead to random popping and cracking sounds. Wooding and flooring and window frames will have been built with enough space to allow these materials to expand so don’t be alarmed by these sounds unless there are visible cracks.

These are the 6 most common strange sounds homeowners might hear. Nothing to worry about, especially if you call the correct repair person. Or, you an always fix it yourself.